This is another thing that just sits in my craw. All this hullabaloo about stores opening on Thanksgiving. For the record, I have zero intention of going to the stores this weekend, let alone on Thanksgiving day. But I don’t make a big deal over the ones that do. I have a friend who lives in Texas and I remember last year on Thanksgiving she was posting pictures of her and her kids standing in line to get into the stores. She labeled a few of them as creating memories. She was doing this not so much to get a big bargain, but for her kids to remember those moments spent with mom and dad on Thanksgiving. Again, I wouldn’t do it. But who am I to tell her she can’t or that she is somehow a bad person because she chooses to?

Another thing that really gets me is the total lack of concern for those that work at restaurants that happen to be open on Thanksgiving. There are plenty of people who can’t be bothered to cook a large meal and go out for dinner. Do you think that the dishwashers in that restaurant are getting big tips? Not likely. They too are away from their families. So are the chefs/cooks. What about the cater waiters who go to people homes to help serve meals? Yes that does happen. Do you think that those people don’t have families like the poor abused Wal-Mart worker?

Look, I have long ago thought that the holiday season has become so commercialized that “the reason for the season” has gotten lost. That is the society we live in. That is the society that we have chosen for ourselves. This isn’t be pushed upon us by Wal-Mart. I remember when I was a kid I was in the family station wagon driving to our destination on Thanksgiving morning and my parents being worried about having enough gas to get back home. There were no open gas stations back then. There were no open grocery stores for those items that you didn’t remember to buy on your trip for your family meal. You had to make due. But today virtually every major grocery store chain is open for at least part of the day. Oh yeah, they are primarily unionized so the cries for them aren’t quite as loud.

Yes, Thanksgiving should be about family. But the fact is that people have been working on holidays for generations now. Do you think those football stadiums aren’t staffed? I have a Christmastime birthday and I am a long-suffering life-long Knicks fan. I was trying to decide what to do for my birthday this year and was thinking about going to a Knicks game since I am now back in the New York area. They are playing on Christmas Day. Do you have any idea how badly I want to go to that game? I found about it far too late and it is all sold out and I am way too cheap to pay the exorbitant prices that tickets are going for at this stage, but let me tell you, I would love to be sitting in the stands on that day. Does that make me a bad person? How exactly is that different from Wal-Mart being open? People will be working won’t they?

People decide for themselves what is family tradition and how that time is spent with said family. There are people who have very tight budgets for Christmas gifts and the deals that are sometimes available during these big events are more than they can resist. I have another friend who when her children were young, didn’t have a great deal of money and her daughter wanted a doll. That doll was on sale for three hours on the middle of the night. She got her butt out of bed and went and got it. Why? Because she couldn’t have afforded it otherwise and that was the one thing her little girl really wanted. That was important to her. You may view it a different way, but for her and her daughter it was something special.

This is yet one more example of people trying to use something for a political goal. This isn’t about people missing time with their families. This is about unionizing Wal-Mart. If this were simply about people working during “family time” they would be complaining about all the other businesses that will be open on Thanksgiving Day. When you start worrying about the servers, the dishwashers, the unionized grocery store workers, then we will talk.

I totally agree with you. Another thing that no one mentions is: what about the people who choose to work that day? Maybe they really need the money and are willing to sacrifice that family time because they need to make rent or buy groceries or pay for their own Christmas shopping. I’ve noticed this push this year about not shopping in thanksgiving, even by conservatives, and it just makes me uncomfortable to agree with the whole thing, even though I have no intention of shopping that day or the next, because it makes the assumption that people working that day don’t want to be working, which is something we can’t just assume.

Also we are making a huge assumption that people want to spend time with their families. Many people don’t get along with them and going to work is a great way to get out of it. Another thing about many retail workers is that many of them are new immigrants to our country and dont’ necessarily feel a kinship towards Thanksgiving. Yes, some of those working would much rather be home with their families, but some will not.

Every New Years Eve, for 20 years, I was singing Auld Lang at midnight and watching everyone else get kissed. I must admit, it was always a lonely moment. But…I had a job.

The people who have to work, know how bad the economy is now, and has been for years. And I think most people will have the get together on Friday, or even Wednesday night just for that special relative that HAS to work. I saw lots of family gatherings tonight in my neighborhood.

Tomorrow, I plan to go buy a camera before I go to Thanksgiving dinner with my family. It’s not something that I want to do, but the camera I want will be on sale almost half price. In this economy, who can resist? So many things are a luxury now. That mother loved her child. I remember going without dental work to buy my son hockey equipment.

And I will say, “Happy Thanksgiving” to the salesperson…and I think that most people just try to deal with it. If the camera is sold out…such is life, right?

The spirit of Thanksgiving is still there…all I had to do was read your wonderful post to know it…so…

Happy Thanksgiving MS Conservative Girl! I hope someday you will get to go to that game:)

I’ve been pointing out the gas stations, grocery stores and Dunkin Donuts every time someone mentions this on facebook. Someone else mentioned the emergency workers, police, fire, EMT’s. Who comes to your house if grandma starts chocking on a turkey bone? Do we want them to not work? There have been many years we’ve had our Thanksgiving dinner on Friday or Saturday if someone can’t attend. And why do we only get together on holidays? Let’s bring back the Sunday family dinners, then the holiday meals are less important.

As most have probably heard, Senator Rubio’s 12-year-old daughter was hurt in a golf car accident. She was air-lifted to Children’s Hospital and is listed in fair condition. A horrible thing for a parent to go through. No matter who the parent is.

Yahoo put out a brief article on the accident. Lets take a look at the comments under said article.

This Cuban eemigrant needs to keep his name relevant because pudgy, white Returds have somehow convinced him to run for Pres. in 2016. He’s not the first Repube to pìmp his kid. Remember when Palin waved her Retard at the ’08 GOP ConVention?

Isn’t he one of the SOB’S that voted agains’t Obamacare? How poetic ! He even stated when elected that he wasn’t going to sign up for a Government Health plan offered to congress.So, my question is, is who is paying for her Helicopter ride and treatment at Miami’s Trauma Center. I guess that chickens are coming home to roost. Rubio is a Puta!

Who gives a crap about this wet back Cuban and his anchor baby. Please this is not news yahoo and nobody cares, ugh

It sure sounds like this was God’s will. I hope the young lady doesn’t have to pay for Marco’s sins.

Rubio:” you weep what you sow”. Karma/Proverbs.

I’ll bet some of the wacko gop senate candidates for senate are saying this is God’s will. Isn’t that what they say about different types of rape and unwanted pregnancies?

If Rubio wants accept 100% tax payer funded medical insurance that he receives as a US Senator which is in reality free socialized medical care ,and he want’s to deny it to every one else. Then Rubio and his brats need to get back on their inner tube raft and float their as back to Cuba

golf-cart accident, huh? well, at least she didn’t have to be treated for the terrible case of carpal tunnel she’s developed from beating the help

Please use the republican healthcare plan and not my taxes….get well or DIE, VOTE REPUBLICAN for LESS GOVERNMENT and higher profits for corporations, Hope this tick is not sucking my taxes for her healthcare, Rubio better be paying 100% out of his wealthy pocket!

Rubio ,with his 100% tax payer funded health insurance, won’t have to pay a penny out-of-pocket. I’m positive that filthy Repuke won’t offer to re-imburse the citizens of the USA. No, he’ll be more than happy to accept socialized medical care for himself and his own. But hey ! The rest of America be damned, he got his and to hell with every one else ! ….Eff Rubio and the Republicans….Vote OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 ! !

Senator,the children of Palestine are dying in large numbers due to Israels blockade.Denying them desperately needed medicine and food supplies.Blood diseases and cancer are off the charts from the nuclear tipped bombs Israel uses on people throwing stones.

To be fair, many called out these comments and said while they didn’t agree with Rubio’s politics, they wished his daughter well. But this is still ghoulish. What have become as a society?

Best wishes and prayers out to the Rubio family while their daughter recovers. The people who left these comments need prayers as well.

Consider not only the hate, but the lack of intellect in each and every one of these comments. From typos and gross grammatical errors to having no understanding of anything resembling a fact, these people have no clue what they are talking about. They are the truly stupid.

This person kind of reminds me of the following story … assuming his way is the ONLY way!

Subject: CEO from Generous Electric

Generous Electric, feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO. The new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers. On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning against a wall. The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant business. He asked the guy, “How much money do you make a week?” A little surprised, the young man looked at him and said, “I make $400 a week. Why?” The CEO said, “Wait right here.”
He walked back to his office, came back in two minutes, and handed the guy $1,600 in cash and said, “Here’s four weeks’ pay. Now GET OUT and don’t come back.” Feeling pretty good about himself the CEO looked around the room and asked, “Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here?”
From across the room a voice said, “Pizza delivery guy from Domino’s.”

In the `60s, before the local paper mill became unionized, the home office sent Efficiency Experts in to trim costs and make things run smoother. While touring around one of the paper machines, he noticed all the employees just standing around, doing nothing but relaxing. He told the foreman he didn`t like that, and asked why they weren`t busy ? The foreman informed him that the machine was working fine. The EE insisted that the workers be busy, so the foreman stuck a broom handle into the paper speeding thru creating a tear. Alarms sounded and paper began to bunch up in the rollers and pile up on the floor. The workers jumped to their stations and began to unclog the works to get the machine back in order.

That`s when the foreman told the smiling EE, “I hope you`re happy now; the mill is making no money, but paying out money, but the men are busy !”

CNN has done documentaries on both Gov. Romney and President Obama. The one for Gov. Romney I thought was well done, very fair and balanced. The one for President Obama has not aired yet. It will be airing tomorrow night at 8pm. Today in an appearance on their Sunday morning chat show, Jessica Yellin revealed that President Obama has not done more outreach to republicans because he wants to spend more time at home as a family. I give him a great deal of credit for wanted to be a hands on dad. That is a wonderful thing. I mean that sincerely. He brought those two girls into the world and he is responsible for them. They deserve to have a childhood.

I was given more than a little grief when I stuck up for Malia’s trip to Mexico last year. Malia and Sasha go to a private school that is very involved in social justice. Once you reach middle school there is a week called minimester, the week before spring break, no classroom work is done. You spend the week doing community service. Every year the school does some of that community service oversees. Malia went on the oversees trip to Mexico. Many on the right went crazy, calling it a waste of tax payer money. My opinion all along was that she had the right to her childhood without the media glare and people who have never met her or care about her making decisions about her life.

I also took a great deal of crap for saying that I didn’t think that Sarah Palin should have run for president this year. I feel that Trig and Piper are too young to be in that type of fishbowl. I firmly believe this. People that have very young children should not be in The White House. Simple things, such as trick or treating become next to impossible with the amount of security that is involved. I said this about President Obama four years ago. His daughters are too young.

I am sorry Mr. President, if being a hands on dad was the priority for you at this point in your life, you should not have run for president. We didn’t come to you. You worked hard at convincing people who you should be one to get that job. You announced for president in February 07, a full 21 months before the election. Your youngest child Sasha was only 5 years old at the time. You didn’t think then that you needed to be home evenings and weekends?

Again, I applaud the fact that he wants to be there for his children in a way his own father was not for him. Wonderful. But, Mr. President what about our children? We have had high unemployment since you have taken office. People have lost their homes. People are working two-part times jobs to make ends meet, because they can’t find a full-time position. Poverty is rising around the country. People on some form of government entitlements is at an all time high.

The job of president is 7/24/365 position. You are always on call. Everything that you and your family does is put under a microscope. Your privacy is limited as your schedule is reported daily. We have the right Mr. President to someone who is going to put all of his energies into the job. I am sorry, but the job of president doesn’t leave much time for a private life. If you wanted a private life, you should have chosen another position. While it is unfair, I don’t care about your families needs. I care about my own. Your promises to the people during your campaign was that you were going to change the acrimony that goes on in Washington. You were going change the tone, do things differently. You never mentioned during that time that you wouldn’t be going out and doing what needed to be done because you would rather spend time playing video games or whatever you do during your family hours.

I stand by my past comments of people with young children not running for President. It isn’t fair to the children, and it isn’t fair to me. You have spent the last four years saying that the republicans wouldn’t work with you, they have been nothing by obstructionists. Well, Mr. President it takes two to tango. It is such a shame that your dance card was full.

Even Jessica Yellin at CNN asked:

“If this was such a priority, why didn’t he do it? You can carve out one night a week to go out and socialize and reach across the aisle.”

Apparently not. I am sorry, but this comment shows full well why this man doesn’t deserve re-election. Our families are far less important than his own. He begged for this job, the least he could have done was made an attempt to do what was necessary to do it well.

Lopez: Another impossible one seems to be your mandate to live simply. School. Lessons. Homework. Birthday parties. Never mind the unavoidable and routine and mundane errands. Who has time to live simply?

Meeker: Those mothers who have no time to look at how to simplify their lives are in the greatest need of doing so. The best thing that we can give our kids is time with us. They need card games with us more than they do more ballet lessons. Teen boys need to wash their cars with their fathers more than they need another video game or football practice. Our kids need to live life beside us and they are drifting further away because of the glut of electronics in their lives. They need face-to-face time with us, not more texts. They need more touch from us and they need to be in the same room with us as we work out our disagreements so they can learn to solve problems.

I am big believer in the family dinner table. I think it is important to sit around the table every night and talk about your day. Sometimes the conversation is a little mundane when a five year is talking about what he did in school that day, but the alternative is that he doesn’t talk to mom and dad at all. My mom was very insistent that we eat dinner at home. We were not allowed to have dinner at someone else’s house. I didn’t appreciate it then, but I realize now why she did it.

I loved the interview with Meeker, Jill, and agree fully. I try to blog at naptime and in the early morning so pjT doesn’t see me glued to the computer. A la Montessori, she cooks and cleans with me, and it’s been fun to watch her skills progress so quickly.

JACG: I agree re the family dinner table. Sometimes we have to have special “picnics” in the family room when it looks like my husband won’t be able to come home for dinner. The picnics have evolved into a special time, too, one that I cherish.

Strength rocks a purple dress to her husband’s Purple Heart ceremony and smiles through tears. Strength becomes his advocate, his appointment scheduler, his researcher for alternative medical treatments to restore their lives, his bedrock when he brings the war home.

I have the video of Bianca Baldwin giving a speech in honor of her husband, Special Forces Major Darren Baldwin, at his Purple Heart ceremony at pjMom. Come watch and read “the rest of the story.”

It’s never too early. We are still on vacation, just back from a few days driving to Montreal and a great visit there. The next three days will be chores and errands in the mornings and fun outings in the afternoons before school and work start up again.

Today we could avoid the garden no longer. Choked with noxious weeds. Shaggy. A mess. Poison ivy. Wild roses pricking the unwary. Thistles ditto. Bamboo sending in invading roots from the neighbor’s yard–runners up to thirty feet under my lawn from the fence. And, yes, I use those teachable moments to make heavy-handed political metaphors for the benefit of my groaning offspring…

So, after some heavy duty maternal preaching, seasoned with appeals to family spirit, guilt, veiled threats, and sweetened with the promise of filthy lucre if enough work was accomplished (it’s the American way) the kids and I proceeded outside. Crews of Mexicans at work on our neighbors’ microscopic and manicured yards. This had the effect of arousing a certain competitive spirit in my teen boy.

In an hour we had filled up the back of the Explorer with four huge barrels squished full of wild roses, vines, a dead yew bush, and weeds clipped and uprooted. Mulch had been spread. The front yard looked a lot better. You could see that there was a blueberry bush and blackberry canes in the side yard again (as opposed to eight foot high monsters of vines earlier.

I heard a yelp from my son on the side. He had pulled vigorously at some tall weeds and disturbed a ground nest of yellow jackets. He was too fast for them. I said gently:

“You know, honey bunny, (he is 17 but tolerates such maternal foolishness if NOBODY is around to hear it) it’s like politics. Nasty critters get settled in and don’t like it when you disturb them. They’ll sting you no matter what. You can’t reason with them. So just go do something else, and I’ll deal with them. ”

We finished up fetching and carrying the piles of weeds from the rest of the project, amazed at how the weeds had just sprung up and choked the flowers and vegetables. A little neglect on our part, and things we had planted with high hopes were either dead or stunted.

Again, I nudged him: “This happens in politics and the economy, too…We were sloppy this summer because it was hot, and we were busy with other things, so we didn’t take care of the garden. Well, people are often the same way about their political liberties and keeping track of what those scummy politicians want to do with our money. You can’t be. If we had weeded the garden every time we walked thru it (the way we do most years) it would be fine now. The same with politics. The worst thing in the world for corrupt and authoritarian political leaders is a citizenry that is alert and intelligent and keeping an eye on them.”

“Sheesh, Mom…”

Oh well, subtlety never was my strong point….heheh But I hope all of you are ready to do a LOT of weeding in late fall. Be ruthless! We have a beautiful garden and a lot of pests to root out of it.